Ralph Oei

Ralph helps Dutch organizations implement AI. Not by simply adding another tool, but by asking the underlying question: what changes in the work once part of it is done by a machine? In his experience, almost no one stumbles over the technology itself. The sticking point comes when an answer appears on the screen and someone has to decide what to do with it: click it away, verify it, or build on it.

For Agile teams, all of this comes together in one place. Development has become less expensive in recent years, and as a result, the focus has shifted to the decision-making that comes before it. Which assumption are you testing, how do you know if it’s correct, and who gets to decide whether to proceed or stop based on that? In his training, teams work through that question using a case study from their own organization. At the end of the day, they go home with a decision, not a tool.

Ralph worked at Coolblue for 21 years and watched the company grow from the inside. As Owner of Workspaces, he was responsible for the tools his colleagues used to do their jobs—and for the question that always lay behind it: why doesn’t half of those people use half of those tools? Before that, he led Coolcademy, the internal training department. From 2008 to 2020, he hosted TEDxTheHague, which he co-founded. Warming up an audience more than 75 times changes the way you stand in front of a group.

He has been working on his own since April. He lives in Voorburg, and when he isn’t teaching a class, he spends his time tinkering with tools that he then gives away.